Isn't it lovely when you're in sync with your pets? Your everyday routine runs smoothly. But when you and your pet are out of sync, it feels like everything takes more effort. What should we do when our pets misbehave after months, even years, of being well-behaved? 

First, we must admit that our pets are not masterminds trying to manipulate us. When misbehavior happens, realize that your pets are having a hard time rather than intentionally giving you a hard time. Next, identify the root causes for your pet's behavior change. 

Our dog has always intermittently barked in our yard. Dogs bark and we allow some barking outside. Lately, she sniffs the backyard like she's in hot pursuit of solving a true crime podcast. She raises her head to the sky and scream barks at the now invisible critters who presumably tiptoed through the grass after dark. The barking is annoying and I am sure it's bothersome to our neighbors. During this routine, our dog cannot be interrupted nor redirected. At night, she flat out refuses to come inside on cue. So what do we do? 

We take a deep breath after our annoyed sigh. We change our behavior and our routine to get her back on track. 

We’re not sure if she’s turning into a werewolf at night, but she doesn’t listen to us after dark in the yard right now. Because of this, we shifted the last long potty break of the evening to before sundown. She’s in our fenced-in backyard while we prepare her dinner. I give her the cue to come inside and feed her dinner. 

We place shoes and a leash next to the back door. We take her outside on leash in our fenced-in backyard for only one after-dark potty break. We allow some sniffing and cue her to “go potty”. We allow a little more sniffing, then we come back inside. We ignore her when she signals she wants to go back outside. She’s in for the night. 

The result? She’s starting to become less obsessed with the backyard after dark. She’s slowly starting to bark less in the morning when her nose is to the ground. We are able to interrupt and redirect her barking more. This has taken weeks. Terriers are tenacious, am I right? 

This isn’t fun – in fact, it’s quite annoying! However, this is what she needs right now. This isn’t a “forever” routine, it’s a “for now” routine. The next time your dog changes her behavior for the worse, take a deep breath, identify the cause, then make a management and behavior modification plan to help get your dog’s behavior back to baseline.